The Servant and the Beast
by EEJones
Summary: Prince Marluxia is a pompous idiot, but even I thought he'd be smarter than to upset a fae. Now we have to play matchmaker or die along with him. At least his ugly face matches his ugly personalty. AU Vexen POV


**EEJones here. Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, I'm just a fan of the game. **

**Prologue**

It was the falling vase that had stopped me from leaving, and it was the vase that I would blame for the next ten years of my life. I had packed my bags, said goodbye, and was on my way towards the door when I knocked the darn thing over.

I don't even know why it was there in the first place. Someone had moved it slightly towards the middle of the hall when it should have been pressed up flat against it. I was going to just ignore it and continue on my merry way, but Prince Marluxia chose that exact moment to enter the hall.

He saw the vase and there was no doubt in anyone's mind who had caused it to fall. "Clean it up," he said gruffly, stopping to make sure that his order was obeyed. I certainly couldn't just ignore a direct order from him, though I might have shot him a glare as I set my bags down.

It was not so difficult to locate a broom, though the prince did tap his foot impatiently while he waited. I swept up the shards of pink glass and was about to dispose of them when the prince interrupted my actions.

"Surely you don't think you're going to throw those away?" there was something in his expression I didn't like, something that made me want to shiver despite the warmth from the blazing fires, "It's part of a collection that has been passed down for generations. You'll have to glue them back together."

"My Lord, I have a train to catch-"

"Then you shouldn't have been so clumsy. Perhaps it is better that you are leaving. The last thing I need is clumsy servants." He opened his voice to continue his lecture, but he was interrupted by a knock at the door. He looked at me as if he expected me to answer it, then shook his head. "You are a frightful sight, no guest should be forced to see you. Stand out of sight while I answer the door."

Perhaps it was best that he missed the curses I hissed under my breath as I pushed my bag out of sight and stood behind one of the obnoxiously large statues of the Prince. Normally I wouldn't have dared to be so disrespectful, but as the minutes ticked by my chances of seeing my family this Christmas ticked away with them.

"Greetings. What business do you have here?" I could not see who was at the door but if the prince did not recognize them it couldn't be good.

"My prince, I have a gift for you," a voice spoke. It was old and raspy, most likely an old woman though it could be a man. I could hear the prince's hmph of disbelief and wondered what she/he/it had given him.

"A rose? I have no need for a rose old woman. Be on your way."

Ah. So it was a woman then. I was right, as I usually was.

"Take it to remember me," the woman implored. I could hear the prince's footsteps as he stepped back, and debated the amount of trouble I'd be in if I peeked my head around the statue to look.

"Why would I want to remember you?" The contempt in his tone hung in the air, and even I hissed in surprise at it. The Prince was an asshole, but usually he was a polite asshole.

"Because of this." The candles flickered and went out. The blazing fires vanished and left a freezing chill in their place. I could hear cackling laughter and to my horror see the prince's shadow clearly illumined on the walls. His shadow seemed to morph and shift until it resembled a beast more than a man.

There were frightful screams coming from him, and my heart had stopped in my chest.

"For ten years in this form cursed be, until one can learn to love thee," There was the tap of heels on the wooden floor and to my shame I was quivering. She walked past the statue and for a moment I thought she had missed me. Then she turned to face me.

She resembled a living skeleton more than a woman. The very colour had been sucked from her skin and hair leaving it white as winter. Yet her eyes, blacker than ebony, were what captured me. I could not look away and felt as though I was drowning in their horrifying depths.

"You too shall share in his fate. As a dog must starve when the master is poor, so must the servants experience his curse," She waved her wand and my blood seemed to heat up until it bubbled and pushed against my skin. Then it faded back to normal, and though there was a strange difference I could see no change in my appearance.

She walked back to the Prince, though I dared not to look at him.

"I leave you this rose. Within ten years time it shall die, you and your servants along with it." There was the click clack of heels against wood and then the door slammed shut. There was an uneasy moment of silence.

Then the Prince's roar seemed to fill the castle and shake its very foundation. I stared mutely at the shards of pink glass, unable to comprehend how things had gone so wrong.


End file.
